*1 ½ pounds yams, boiled or microwaved, skinned and mashed (a very streamlined version of the labor-intensive, two-person task of pounding traditional fufu into a smooth, dense dough for scooping stews and gravies to eat by hand)

Method

In a large pot, bring all ingredients except the peanut butter and seasonings to a boil, then reduce heat to low, simmering approximately 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not mushy. Add peanut butter, allowing it to soften briefly in the hot stock before stirring it in. Simmer several more minutes until heated through and gently bubbling. Simmer longer if you prefer a thicker soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls, then drop generous spoonfuls of mashed yams into the soup. Garnish with red pepper flakes if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4. –

This is my contribution to My Legume Love Affair - Second Helping, which I am hosting for August to kick off what is now a monthly event. (I will publish a separate post next week listing the guest hosts throughout the coming months.) This current round-up will be online very late tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who has participated. And thanks for the dozens of generous and friendly comments left to my most recent posts. I will be replying to every one of them as soon as the round-up is posted, as well as continuing to visit and comment to your blogs, which I have been having the pleasure of doing these past several days as I work to catch up on everything since my return from break. See you soon!

23 comments:

Sweet potato and PB (or, actually, any nut butter) is one of my favorite combinations. This sounds fantastic. So I'm guessing the peanuts are stand-ins for groundnuts? Or are they actually the same thing?

Your recipe looks amazing! My college roommate and very dear friend lived in Ghana for a while and came back to the states gushing about fufu... I remember trying to make a very elaborate recipe for her in our college apartment one night! :-) I am excitedly passing this recipe along to her - and I can't wait to fix it as well!

I am SO excited that the legume love affair will become a regular event! Hooray! Legumes are such an important part of our diet - thank you for the inspiration!

Susan,That soup looks simply divine. Peanut soup is a favorite here with the kids and my husband. I'll have to try your version now that we are getting into colder rainier weather here. Thanks for this great post.

We'd like to invite you to participate in our September apple and peach recipe contest. All competitors will be eligible to win one of three prizes :)! Please email me, sophiekiblogger@gmail.com, if you're interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details: http://blog.keyingredient.com/2008/08/29/september-kick-contest/

How exotic, how beautiful! Looking at the photo, I thought this will be difficult to prepare so it's a surprise that the instructions are relatively short, hee. Your photos never fail me to 'wow' me the instant they load on my screen! ^^

Foodycat – Thanks! Many who visit Africa talk fondly about the food. I can see why.

Alex – You’re not an idiot. We all have things to learn. It’s the know-it-all who is the idiot.

Thank you, Katie!

Astra – Thank you. Someday I will try my hand at authentic fufu, but I will definitely need FOUR hands to do it. ; } Glad you are inspired by MLLA. I know that I will be sure to post about legumes at least once a month for the duration of the event.

Thanks, Alexa. This is an excellent recipe to warm up chilly, wet days.

Absolutely gorgeous photos - and, I imagine, a yam and peanut soup can't be the easiest thing to photograph! I'm a huge peanut fan, so I'll definitely be trying this as soon as it cools down a bit here.

Wow - this sounds intriguing. People often ask me if we use goundnuts much in South African cooking, but I think it's more our northern neighbours, so I'm not that familiar with cooking with groundnuts. This sounds like a fascinating combination of flavours!

Susa, lovie ~ As Eric and I have hit our 30s, we've become increasingly aware of food that is high in fibre and that lowers (bad) cholesterol. Legumes are vital, and it is no wonder that developing countries still recognise the value of the dietary contribution they make, unlike others in the developed world who have moved on to processed goods. Your now monthly event, My Legume Love Affair will be a great bank of recipes and ideas for all of us to improve our diets.

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